Atom 4 buyers spec discussion thread

[reg]

Reg

At Silverstone Supercar Sunday (June 10th this year) I had 162 mph (261 km/hr on the TomTom 550 satnav) indicated down the start/finish straight with 2 persons up!!

My 6' 2" grandson was my pax!

- in my opinion, along with the side panels, fitting the full windscreen has significantly improved the aero on my particular Atom 3.5R!

The fact is any open wheel car is massively inefficient aero wise, I will wager that the windscreen impacts negatively on the drag, the 3/3.5 is basically a brick in aero terms. My point was with 'only' 300HP I have seen 158 on the 'vagueometer' with two people in the car. With supposedly another 40HP i'd expect more. Mind you, I don't have wings which likely just knacker things further.

[Anon]

I would agree with Reg. Normally race cars such as lmp are better with a cabin and hence a windscreen but only because it allows for a stiffer chassis. This is not the case for the Atom. If i were a betting man and you placed the 3.5 with a windscreen in the wind tunnel for testing you'd see drag because air flow will not flow over the top of the car. I'd suspect you would see massive drag here.

For me anyway part of the fun of the Atom is the bike feel, wind in your face that is priceless with a helmet on there is nothing else like it.

[AlanP]

The windscreen aesthetics are, of course, a personal issue. The idea that you need a windscreen to drive without a crash helmet is clearly nonsense, Clarkson's epiglottis would not have been full of bees otherwise. I don't understand why you'd have a raucous, open top car and want to experience it from inside a helmet. I'm on my second Atom in approaching 11 years and I've pretty much only worn a helmet when obliged to on track. A couple of times I've had a stone in the face at speed which stings briefly, so what? 3 years ago I picked my car up from Sicily after a wedding, with a mate, and neither of us even brought a helmet for the journey. I want the full sensory experience, all the noise.

Don't get a windscreen because you think you have to, that's all.

Alan

[Anon]

Wearing a helmet without a windscreen is not nonsense at least if you value your eyes and hearing for that matter. But then you have 2 of each! I plan on using a helmet with mine both on track and off. If the worst thing does happen on either I'd rather have a helmet on than not. I plan to get helmets for the kids also for when they come out on rides.

[AlanP]

I didnt say wearing a helmet without a windscreen was nonsense, I said the idea that you need a windscreen to drive without a crash helmet was nonsense.

I’d agree about the kids though.

A pair of Wiley Xs or some such will protect your eyes about as well as a helmet I think, but it's all personal preference. I don't know what realistic threat there is from not wearing a crash helmet, but I guess we all live with our own balance of risks.

Alan

[Preseh]

Corky, I’m not too dissimilar:
LSD
Full windscreen (what are people’s thoughts who have these, worth it?)
Baffled sump (will be doing 5/6 track days)

Be careful. Someone like REIS will either insure your car with the windscreen OR provide 6 trackdays of insurance. But not both.

Sure you can find other insurers, and other ways of covering trackdays, but thought you’d like to be aware of the above.


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Hi All,

Another newbie here with my deposit going down a month or so ago

Interesting re the insurance and windscreen. I was planning on having the windscreen for the occasional summer blat and then take it off for trackdays. Do REIS not include trackday insurance if you've got the windscreen?

My spec is looking close to yours Simon - just waiting on the price of the sequential box to see if I can justify it.

[Anon]

Congrats on the order!

Your spec should be a fast Atom. I do think I will sell a kidney if I have to for the seq box or even choose to delay delivery it's that important to me. The thing with the gearbox is its much harder to retro fit after as well.

What is the expected ball-park delivery date now for new orders?

Cheers
Simon

[Corky]

Dec 2020/ jan 2021

[phil4]

Do REIS not include trackday insurance if you've got the windscreen?

That's it, it's one or the other.

[phil4]

I do think I will sell a kidney if I have to for the seq box or even choose to delay delivery it's that important to me.

I'm not saying you're wrong to think that, but as I have a car with a flappy paddle gearbox already, when driving enthusiastically I'd much rather have a manual. It's not so much about "interacting with the car", or anything like that, I just find it much easier especially braking, as it seems to bring together the braking, revs and gears just right. In the flappy paddle machine, it just doesn't seem to work that way... I end up just braking hard, but not really knowing where to stop. It's like having to change gives me an extra indicator.

Just me though... doubt that applies to anyone else!

[Anon]

No one is right or wrong, it's just opinions and views. When I ordered my 3.5 over a year ago I planned to get the manual. Since then I have changed my mind mostly because I want more of a race car and because the sadev is a rally racing gearbox costing a huge amount of money. The seq gearbox (should) allow me to drive faster and safer - granted it may not be more fun I am not sure. I've had mostly manuals but a couple flappy paddle cars, the flappy paddle car take a while to get used to that is for sure but I have never had a sequential gearbox and the seq gearbox will hopefully make the car feel more like a race car than road car and I love the idea of changing gear so fast.

I do sometimes wonder whether a Radical RXC or SR3 would be better for me but time will tell, those you can't even get in a manual gearbox.

[AlanP]

Simon

The Sadev is completely different from normal paddle shifts, when you put it into gear at a standstill, when you are driving gently or changing down slowly, it is violent and brutal and bloody noisy. When you're pressing on though it is glorious, it completely dominates the driving experience and it does feel very much like a race car on the road. It blips the throttle and times downshifts perfectly and it won't let you change down if that would over rev the engine. It's what made me buy the car.

Alan

[Peter255]

Newbie here.

Order placed, 2 years away.

Spec:

LSD
Full aero
Traction control etc
Colour chassis, gloss black or white
Aero screen
4 pot front brakes, sport rear, good enough for what I need
Brake balance control.
Passsenger foot rest
Not sure on shocks, 3k for One way Bilstein or 5k for Öhlins.
Towing eye
12 v feed
Black brake and clutch lines
Exhaust not sure. I will wait to hear what they sound like. But must be trackday legal
Decat pipe

That is to start with.

[mention]Corky[/mention]

Tom told me we cannot have a decat anymore on its own. Apparently due to the impact to the fuelling.

[Anon]

Simon

The Sadev is completely different from normal paddle shifts, when you put it into gear at a standstill, when you are driving gently or changing down slowly, it is violent and brutal and bloody noisy. When you're pressing on though it is glorious, it completely dominates the driving experience and it does feel very much like a race car on the road. It blips the throttle and times downshifts perfectly and it won't let you change down if that would over rev the engine. It's what made me buy the car.

Alan

Thanks for your experiences on the sadev Alan.

For me as also for you, this is part of the fun. The wine, the brutal nature of it, you don't need to take your hands off the steering wheel, the down shifting and engine noise coming up to an apex in my view is way more fun than a manual. Each to their own though on this. The problem is the Atom 4 is now costing that, and more of a race car.

[Hedge]

The seq box certainly won't be 8k.

Cheers,
Hedge